Advancements in consumer electronic devices have led to a wide variety of such devices that may be operated remotely, i.e., at a distance from the device, using an associated remote control. Moreover, universal, learning, programmable or “smart” remote controls have been developed to allow a user to operate one or more devices remotely using a single remote control and/or to replace one or more remote controls.
Most remote controls are hand-held devices that provide a user interface, such as a keypad, touchpad, slider switch, or the like, for a user to select various functions of the corresponding device or devices to be controlled. Also, most remote controls are wireless, battery-powered devices to facilitate their portability to locations from which the user may wish to control the corresponding device(s), although some wired remote controls exist. Common wireless remote controls are configured to communicate with the device(s) to be controlled via various known wireless modes, such as infrared, radiowave, and the like.
The complexity of remote controls has increased along with the increased complexity of the devices that are controlled. Consumer demand has driven such complexity, at least in part, as users expect substantial or complete functionality of controlled devices via the associated remote control.